The Idle Class
About The Idle Class
The Tramp arrives at a resort for the weather and the golf. He pockets balls that are still in play, and one golfer swings at the wrong man. In the hotel, a neglected wife walks out on her rich husband until he stops drinking. Chaplin plays that husband as well as the Tramp. Mistaken for a pickpocket, the Tramp ducks into a masquerade, where the wife takes him for her husband. The mix-up is sorted out and the Tramp leaves.
Cast & crew
More about The Idle Class
Chaplin wrote and directed it and plays both the Tramp and the drunk husband. Roland Totheroh photographed it. First National released it on 25 September 1921.
Themes
Making
Chaplin changes clothes rather than using a double for the two roles. The golf gag depends on balls disappearing between shots.
Look
Roland Totheroh shot the golf course, the park, and the masquerade.
Preservation
Prints survive. Warner Home Video included it on DVD in 2004, and Image Entertainment issued a DVD in 2000.
Notes
- Edna Purviance plays the wife. Mack Swain plays her father.
- Henry Bergman is a sleeping hobo and a guest dressed as a policeman. Al Ernest Garcia is a cop in the park.
- Lita Grey appears as a maid.
- The husband and the Tramp share one face, which is the engine of the ballroom scene.
Scenes
- A golfer attacks another player after the Tramp steals the ball.
- At the masquerade the wife greets the Tramp as her husband.
Also available
- Warner Home Video DVD (2004)
- Image Entertainment DVD (2000)
